Rural Fuel, Tire & Service Business — Priced Under 2x Earnings
Well-established fuel, tire and automotive service business serving an agricultural trade area. The company sells refined fuels — dyed off-road farm diesel, clear diesel and unleaded gasoline — alongside a tire sales and repair shop and a small convenience merchandise counter.
The core customer is the working farm: a non-discretionary buyer who purchases fuel, tires, oil, grease, filters and DEF on a seasonal production schedule set by planting and harvest rather than by consumer sentiment. Dyed farm diesel alone accounts for the single largest revenue line in the business, evidence of real recurring agricultural accounts rather than transient highway traffic.
Financial snapshot (most recent six-month period, accrual basis, internally prepared): approximately $1.37 million in revenue, $131,000 in gross profit and $73,000 in net income. Operating expenses ran roughly 4% of revenue — a genuinely lean cost structure. Fuel demand in this market is seasonal, so six-month results should not simply be doubled; full-year statements and tax returns are available to qualified buyers in due diligence. Figures are as-reported and include no owner add-backs, so a buyer's calculation of discretionary earnings would be expected to run higher.
Operations: three full-time employees, no contractors, no franchise agreement and no royalty obligation. No special licensing is required to operate. The seller reports that a buyer with reasonable general business skills can learn to manage the operation in a matter of days, and that a new employee can be trained in one day. The owner's primary function is management.
Assets included in the sale: approximately $97,000 of equipment at seller-stated values, including five bulk fuel tanks totaling roughly 24,000 gallons of on-site storage (above-ground and in-ground), a fuel delivery truck, tire shop equipment and coolers. Saleable inventory is estimated at approximately $35,000 at wholesale. The operating premises are owned rather than leased; treatment of the real estate is subject to negotiation.
Growth opportunities: the seller identifies on-farm fuel delivery as the largest untapped opportunity — and the delivery truck required to serve it is already included in the sale. Additional upside includes establishing a posted shop labor rate (service is currently bundled into parts and tire pricing), modernizing marketing beyond the current print-only spend, and pursuing commercial, contractor and municipal bulk accounts.
Ideal buyer: an owner-operator seeking an affordable, understandable business with a short payback period, or a strategic acquirer already operating in fuel distribution, farm supply or agricultural services who can add volume, storage capacity and a customer base to an existing back office.
Offered as an asset sale. Cash and debt remain with the seller. Serious, qualified inquiries only; a signed non-disclosure agreement is required before further information is released. All communication must be directed through the broker — please do not contact the business, its owners, employees or customers.
